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Northern Star (1837-1852), 23rd April 1842, Edition 3 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1842.
    • 3To Meajierjs anH Correjspomient^
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      Untitled Article

      O'BRIEN OS THE MIDDLE CL i ^ SES . SCHEMES OF RELIEF—UNIYKftSAL SFJ . FRAGE-RICH AND I OOR . "We are on the eve of sreat changes , ' . ^ q pyg ^ system is worn out , wad must fcive ^ j ; Tery j ^ . Boning man admits this . Aj ^ a ^ y one wh 0 S 6 stati on or experience gives turn \ fc « means of knowing what is going on in society , - tod ^ ^ qi te u tiiat the present order « £ * . aings cannot continue . At the awns time , while > ^ i agree that great changes must take place , therp , is no limit to conjectures as to what those cli&nges are to be , and still less are people agreed on what they ought to be . Every " Statesman " las his own pocket code , and eTery political quack lias "his own favourite nostrum . One man is for ** Equitable Adjustment , " another for An action on .

      the Currency ? a third for abolishing Tithes and Cor a LawF , a fourth for such a reduction in the gorer fluent expenditure and public establishments of tie coantry £ 3 woald greatly diminish taxatioa , without impairing " public credit , " a fifth for the rubs * , itution of a graduated property tax , in lieu of the present anomalous and expensive system of im Jirecfr taxation , a sixth forgiving to manufactures tb > j same artificial protection that agriculture derives fr om the Com Bill , viz , a tariff of protecting duties , a jeventb is for the reverse of this , his motto being tt & free trade , based en a free trade in corn "; an < eighth is for mortgaging the poor ' s rate , and shi pping off the " surplus population" to Canada oj ; to Yan

      Diemen s Land ; a ninth for raising a sapital by loans or the issue of Exchequer Bills , ? &i thereby locating the poor on the waste lands ; a tenth is for breaking up all monopolies , and th" ;« wing open lie trade to India , by which me i » g we are graTely assured * that the National , Debt » ay be paid off in eight years , out of $ & « surplus profits of trade ; an eleventh laug' js -all these to scorn , as so many ricketty abortions , ?^ maintains that all schemes for ameliorating oxv / condition OK » t end in emote , so long as the princip ie of competition governs society , —and that the on ! j remedy for al ] evil is , the universal substimtio a , througfceut

      society , of the cooperative for the / xtapetUwe system A twelfth , a thirteenth , a fourtf eath—and so en to the end of the chapter—are for otber and various remedies , differing from one ar . other in shade and degree , according te the diff jreat views and interests of the parties , but ab aost * H . reducible to some modification -ef composi don of those already enumerated . In this vortex of opinio £ , the readers of the Guardian trill -naturally as * ; what elae we woald recommend to gwde them t at " of this labyrinth of mazes , « nd restore them t a the region of sunshine » nd safety 1- ^ OtE answer - js ,

      ICN 1 TEBSAX SUFFRAGE ' That 53 the - only remedy we can understand—the « n } jwne w&dvsm . worthy the attention of the working ^ classes . "With the solitary exception of cooperation , * a \ l "the above schemes would ( unless accoapaniedlij Univerf . » l Suffrage ) only aggrandize -era clas 3 flC non-pr «> ducers at the expence of fiootheTj ^ wMle , in the long ran , they would leave the 3 JrodnciBg' « iaii jnst "where they found him : and as > to co-operation , we deem its application ntterly im"rpracticsibfc : under the existing laws , or under any "form ofi ^ ovtrnment other tban a government of the people . A complete reroletion of manners must T > recede >* ny successful attempt at general happiness ; —and tkis revolution must , * s necessarily , be preeedftd by an equality of rights , based on Universal Suffrage . The rich hare no sympathy or

      fellewfeeliag'wHh the poor . They never had any , and never-can haTe any . The hitlory of the world proves this to be the case—and common sense shows it-nra £ t be so , without the evidence of history , A xicbtian is a man who enjoys himself , while the poonaian is toiling for him . From infancy he has been brought up to idleness and to certain artificial "waais , which cannot be gratified without great toil and privation en the part of somebody . Now , as he Trill neither bear toil and privation himself , nor to ^ without his expensive luxuries , it is plain he must hare somebody to toil for him . Sat how Is he to accomplish this , since every one thinks it quite enough to work for his own wants 1 It is plain he ' can effect it but in one way , and that ib , by usurping the whole power of law-taking , te the exclusion of ihe poor man .

      By virtue of this usurpation he first establishes -dominion over the laod ; -and having once obtained "this , he finds very liule difficulty is extending it to the capital and protective industry of the coontry . Once in possession -of a power -over , these , it needs no penetration to see that he will never let go Ms grip oa the labours -ef the poor man , so long as the laws are strong enough to enforce his claim . - He will give the latter Jast bo much -of the produce of his own earnings as will keep him alive , and able to £ 0 on producing ; or , which is the same thing , he will continue in existence only such laws and institutions as will have this tendency . He will have laws of entail to transmit the land to his own

      ieir 3 , and laws of usury to enable the capitalist to keep adding to his capital out of the labour of those he proscribes . In short , the laws and institutions of the rich man will have oo other object in view than to keep himself rich , and the poor man poor ; or , in other words , to keep the poor man in such a state of dependence for Ms daily bread , ihat * o exist at all he mast oe content to produce ten or twenty shillings worth of luxuries fei the rich man , before he is permitted to eDjoy a shilling ' s worth of necessaries for himself . This being ' the ease , then , ( and who will gainsay it I ) how absurd to think of forming co-eperative communities under

      the existing laws 1 The object -of such -communities "being to establish for the workman dominion over -the fruits of Mb labour , and consequently to cut away the ground from under the feet of the upper and middle classes , is any body fool enough to imagine that these classes would not employ their present exclusive power of law- * aking to extingm&h the new heresy the moment it assaaed a practical form 1 Common sense tells ob they would not permit it to exist an hoar longer than the enactment of a new law , or the formal execution of the old ones , might render necessary .

      The case , however , would be -quite different under & Parliament radically reformed . Such a Farlianjent wonld represent the interests of the workman , as well as of those who -devour him ; and as the producers are at least as numerous as the nonproducers , every institution tending , like co-operative communities , to protect the former from the avarice and ambition of the latter , would be snreto have its due share of legal protection- Besides , what is of more consequence , a sew public opinion ¦ would instantly spring out of Universal Suffrage . The workman raised to the same political level with his master , would not be longer the cringing

      and timid slave he is now—and the rich man , finding his artificial superiority gone , would be compelled to renounee the callous arrogasee of aristocracy , and -con ' t the friendly smile and the good will of hia new -equals by courtesy and fr&nk manners . In fact , it would be tbea his interest to cnltivate friendship with those he now despises , for , haying no exclusive property in the laws , tne best security for his possessions , as well as for his happiness would be found in an affable demeanour towards his poorer fellow--citizens , and a cheerful readiness to co-operate with / them in all undertakings forthe promotion of public . utility , or general happiness ' .

      But as the sysrem works now , he « an Jiave no ¦ friendly feeling towards the poor man , nor , of course , " the poor man iowards him . He knows he fives by plundering the poor man of the produce of his toil , through the agency" of the laws , which are hct instruments of robbery in his hands ; and that the poor man must naturally hate him for this injustice . There can , therefore , be no community of feeling or good fellowship bet wees them ; and the Sim who wonld preach it , while at tke same time he adsacatss the system , is a rank hypocrite , or a wolf in sheep ' s clothing . As well might Ulysses entertain kindly feelings towards Polyphemus , who wanted to eat bda , as the Eaglish pauper to the lordly tyrants

      who outlaw and devour him . The poor have a right to hate the rich , so long as the rich exclude them ¦ f rom tie rights of citizenship ; and whatever Lord Brougham ' s magazine may pretend to the contrary , iiey have also a right to revenge themselves whea--ever they can get the opportunity . It 13 not , how-• eTer , because a man is rich that the poor ought to hate him- ( for many of the rich are excellent and iind-hearted men ) , but becaaseheis an enemy of the jioor . maiue rights . Every rich man is not our . enemy , and therefore every rich- man ought not to ibe hated ; bet whersrer we can distinguish between onr friends and voluntary oppressors , we are justitfied before God and man in making the latter feel

      © ur-rengaaDce in every possible way we can reach ihemi and . though risers of blood were to flow in the-straggle , the guilt could only lie at the doors . of those whose aggressive injustice provoked it . Remember , fellawroountrymen , that to strip » man of leas rigattjjis tosusp him of his bread—of his clothes ¦—of hi 81 ease—of bis comforts—of his independence of hissrff- ^ st ee m—of the . power of acquiring knowledge—in duort , of all thosa qaalitias of mind , heart , And pern * , which . captivate beauty and constitute ifee charm ef « xistenoe . Liberty is sot ft mere Bound —it is the meass , and the only means , of happiness . Tfee man , therefore , who deprives his fellow-crearteres of liberty * is worse than a traitor or amurvderer , and as &u £ i should he be dealt with in the dav « f retribuiiee .

      It s « j be asked , what danger is there that the muidle aid influential classes would sanction a military despotism in Englaad 1 Men who ask such quesiHiooB * £ these know little of the state of society . ThemeelTe 8 sincere , they fancy that siticeHiy in the wealthier classes is tbe ride , and deceit the exception , Alas ! what m > delusion I These elasses subsist wholly by lies . The bread they eat is the bread < ri falsehood—the wine they drink , and the carriages they roll in , are all the offspring of deceit . Their life is » continued lie , and their language , a » taught item from infancy , is that of conventional hypocrisy Tq lift withont work , and acquire fortunes out o / the ? ^ Mr . Bueking am .

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      labour of othera , is , ia their minds , the grand SJftret aad business r / fife-. Brought up to artificial wants from their oradle ^ wants that cannot be gratified without entailing an enormous buss of slavery and misery on thosa below them , they look upon every O 40 who would make a change in favour of the opposed as their natural enemy . _ Accustomed to the cannibalism of artificial society , and finding , from history , that society h& 3 been always the sajne in principle , they cannot conoeive any other , state possible . They believe , accordingly , ( those of them who think at all on the subject , ) that men were made like wild animals , to prey upon one another , the strong on the weak—the cunning on the simole—the learned on the ignorant , &c . ; but

      finding , from experience , that the men preyed up ' jn cannot be reconciled te the system by mere b ^ te force , they have invented ten thousand methods of bolstering it np , under the forms of law and custom , which it would take a man hia whole l' / e to-find out . The priest , the soldier , the hp yogman , the banker , the lawyer , the exciseman—in short , all who live by the crimes and ignorance rX society , are , under divers pretences , hired to prop it up , their salaries being the emoluments derivable from their swindling pursuits ( invente / i for the purpose ) , and their employers being the ruling powers of the aristocracy , or the great'dtate-devourera . Even the shopkeepers and master mansfacturers , amounting { with their dependant ' s' ) to more than six millions of the population , arc more or less interested in the system , their businoss being to buy labour cheap from the poor , and se ' il it dear to the aristocracy ; they

      are immediately dependent on the latter for support . Besides , takeu as a body , they are the basest of society . Occupying an intermediate position between the workman and the aristocrat , employing tbe one and being employed by the other , they insensibly contract the vices of both tyrant and slave : tyrants to those below them , sycophants to those above them ; and , usurers from necessity and habit , they prey on the -weakness of the workman , while they extort all they can from the vanity of the aristocrats Indeed , the middle classes are the destroyers of liberty and happiness in all countries . It is their interest ( under the present form of society ) that the poor should be iceak , and the rich extravagant and vain ; and this being the case , the man who expects from them any real opposition to despotism from inclination , must be a fool or a madman . —BRONTERRE , in the Poor Man s Guardian .

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      PEEL AND HIS OPPONENTS . THE INCOME TAX AND GENERAL TAXATION . Tbe Ministerial projects progress towards completion . The New Corn Bill has been read a third time in the Commons , and passed . It has been M debated" in the Honse of Lords , and the second reading of it carried on Monday night last , by a majority of 102 ; the numhers being For the second reading 119 Against it 17

      The resolution on which the Income Tax Bill is is founded , passed in the House of Commons ( some Bay by mistake ) without division ; and the bringing np of the " Report" that they had so passed , led to a long debate , which , as was announced in . onr last number , ended in the reception of the Report by a majority of 106 , and the rejeotion o * little Lord John ' s " amendment , "—the old exploded contemned spitten-upon Whig Budget of 1841 . On Monday the Bill itself was introduced by the Premier , and on the question of the first reading little Lobs JoH . f moved " that it be read that day six months . " This unusual course of opposing a Ministerial Bill in its first stage , led to a lengthy and wordy discussion , which ended in a division , when it appeared that there

      were—Tot the first reading 285 For little John ' s amendment ...... 188 Majority for Pbkl 97 The Tariff has also been reconsidered by the Government , and placed on the table of tbe Honse in an amended form . The alterations are not many , nor of much moment . Thus stand the " measures of relief" in the House of Commons at the time of our present writing . No donbt . exists in the mind of any parties but that all tbe measures will pas 3 into law . They may be slightly modified in their progress through Parliament ; but it seems to be clearly understood , en every hand , that they will pass mainly in the form and shape as introduced by Pkel .

      The threatened out-of-doors opposition to the Income Tax has been a signal failure ! Failure was never more complete ! Every effort has been used to get up the steam ; but all to no purpose . ' Where meetings have been holden , care has been taken to have them of the most select character . The getters-up of them have , in no one instance , dared to appeal to the people . And it is in very few places indeed , that even these select meetings have been called ; and where they have been holden , the proceedings have been so dull and tame , and , withal , so horribly selfish , as to have produced no other feelings , even in their own immediate locality , but those of ineffable contempt and deep disgust !

      How could it be otherwise ? Are not those who , have so met and denounced Peel ' s plan of direct taxation been long known as the strenuous supporters of that system which has made the Income Tax of £ 4 , 000 , 000 , and the direct taxation of £ 53 , 000 , 000 a-year , necessary 1 Have they not been long known as the violent persecutors of those who wished to do away with that * ' necessity " and to reduce our public burdens to something like a bearable load 1 Have they not raised and yelled out the cry of " public robber , " " cheat , " " spoliator , " "thief" against every one who has

      proposed to reduce our expenditure , on equitable principles , to the means of the nation to pay \ Have they not been constantly vociferating , thai " national faith must be kept" ! the army must not be disbanded , or even reduced" ! " the pensions and sinecures , and grants , and allowances must not be interfered with"J "the salaries and dead weight mnst not be reduced "?! Have they not stood forth on every occasion , and in every manner that insolence and bullying could suggest , to resist even to the death the many and continued efforts ot the people to obtain justice in these particulars

      And is it wonderful that the people who have thas struggled ; the peoplewho have been thus treated ; the people who have marked and experienced the insolent and audacious conduct of the "middle-class-men " when the burdens of tbe state" were alone upon the shoulders of the wealth-prodncers ; is it wonderful that persons so circumstanced should contemn and despise the selfish outcries of these same " middle-class men" against the imposition of Peel ' s Income Tax , when they know that the necessity for the measure has been created by the course of conduct so unceasingly pursued by the now sensitively selfiah opposers of taxation ? 1

      Is it not shamelessly nnjust and outrageously indeceat , that the " middle classes" should dare to utter one word of complaint against taxation , in whatever shape , or in amount however great ? Is it possible to conceive of any thing so repugnant to the principle of fair-play , as the condnctof the mid-* dle-clas 3 men" in opposing the imposition of a fax which will affect themselves , when they have ma ttained the iniquitous syEtem which has rendered that tax necessary and just ?

      The opposition however , selfish and shameful as it is , has failed ! The Income Tax will pass ! And then—O then ! for a squeak ! The cry of the poor starved operative for relief from his tremendous "share of taxation ; the outry of the producers of wealth against the £ 53 , 000 , 000 , will be moderation itself when compared with the vehement denunciations of the " middle classes' * against tht £ 4 , 000 , 000 !

      There is one thing which the people would do well to mark , in connection with this Income Tax , and tbe amount sought to be raised by it . Were onr Government what it ought to be ; were our w engagements" what they ought to be ; were all parties disposed to look our difficulties fully and fairly in the face , and to apply the only efficient remedy ; were the Debt equitably cot rid of , and the necessity for maintaining a standing army to collect taxes to pay the interest , superoeded ; were the pension list , and the sinecures , and tie grants , and

      Untitled Article

      allowances unsparingl y privaed , astheyoughUo be ; were the salaries of tfce officers of eta * * reduced to a just and equitable amount ; were those who have the power oj taxation in their hands disposed to do justice to the people , the £ 4 , 000 , 000 sought to be raised by the Income Tax would be more than Sufficient for all the wants of Government ! The American Government does kotcost THE S- ^ tbs THREE MILLIONS STERLING A . TEAR 1 Why should ours cott more ! What necessity is there f . or our paying £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year for the Government of England , when the Government of the United States does not cost £ 3 , 000 , 000 ? Are we better governed ? Are we moie powerful , either at home or abroad ! Are we better fed—more Secure

      in onr possessions—more comfortable in our several posuiona \ TheveTy questions are a mockery H We are not more powerful ; for these same States when comparatively weak , wrested their Independence from us . We are not more powerful ; for these same States , and this-less-thaa-three-millions-ayear Government , have , Bince they forced us to acknowledge their Independence , proclaimed war against , and beaten us J J This same people , who only pay £ 3 , 000 , 000 a-year in taxation , had a nayV in 1812 which blew our thundering and "big" one

      out of the water ; and they had soldiers which drove ours out of their country into the sea ! O , no ! we are not more powerful than they are ! Our £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year taxation does not enable us to fight better than they can : for they have beaten us twice I Our Government is not more respected at home than their ' s is ; nor are our people better satisfied with their condition under our dear Government . Why then should we pay more ? and especially why should we pay so enormously more 1

      The fact is always overlooked , that the country governs itself , and pays for its own government , wholly independent of the Government up at London . Each county has a complete government in itself . It lias a lord-lieutenant , a sheriff , justices of the peace , and all inferior officers . It has a militia , when the posse of the sheriff is found insufficient . It provides for all these by a tax called the countyrate . The counties pay , and pay well too , for the governing of themselves , jast as the several States of America do ; and the one county of Lancaster pays mere for thai purpose than any four or five of the American States . When the tax-eaters tell us , therefore , and when good , easy , foolish people adopt

      the tale , that Goverment must be supported , the proper answer is , that the Government is supported in the counties , and in the cities and towns . But what these parties mean by " the Government , " are the fund-holders , the dead weight , the pensioners , the sinecure-people , the haunters of the clubhouses , and all the swanuB of idlers that devoar tbe substance of the nation . These ate what the taxeaters mean " , when they raise the cry of " National Faith , " and " Government muBt be supported . " It is for these that the sum of £ 60 , 000 , 006 sterling a-year is required ; and it is to keep up these that Peel finds it necessary to lesoit to the Income Tax , as the best and most equitable means of raising the required amount to pay with .

      The main portion of the business of that which is really " the government of the nation , " being attended to and paid for in the several counties , it follows that there is really very little left for the general government to attend to , or pay for . There ia the monarchy and its expenoes ; the officers of state ; the jndgea ; the ambassadors , * the nary ; and the contingent expencea appertaining to this general government . These are all that have to be provided for ; all that are needed . To provide for these , and to provide amply , too , the sum sought to be raised by Sir Robebt Peel , through his Income

      Tax , is more than sufficient ! It would be extravagance to leave at the disposal of the Queen , for her own and ber personal attendants , more than £ 150 , 000 a-year ; and it would not require more than £ 300 , 000 a-year for the salaries of officers of state , judges , ambassadors , and other contingent expences , if we only paid for services rendered . The whole of the navy during the last peace , cost little more than a million pounds sterling a-year ; we now pay the enormous sum of £ 7 , 000 , 000 ! !! Bnt then we have a " Naval Academy , " oat of which all naval officers come . This " Academy" is

      supported , it is needless for us to say , out of the taxes ; and into it none can enter , unless they h&ve interest sufficient with the " authorities . ' One of the consequences of this system is , that a return laid before Parliament a few years ago showed that there were personB belonging to aristocratical families , who were become post-captains over the heads of thousands upon thousands of seniors in the service ! and that some of these post-captains were actually in the command of ships , having under them Bailing masters and lieutenants , who were serving at sea before these same captains were bornII ! And it is

      with Btuff like this that we are to fight Jonathan Onr last disgraceful war with America was commenced by one of these sprigs of nobility , named Djcre , a relative of the Lord of that name . Being a captain of a frigate , the Guekriere ( which word , in English , means " warrior , " or "famous fighter , " or " hero"J , and being in the West Indies , Dacrb was dispatched to the coast of the United States . Recollecting the story of Van Tromf , he hoisted a broom at his mast-head , thereby notifying his intention to sweep the seas of the ships of the enemy . Jonathan went ont with a frigate , called

      u The Cokstitdtion , " commanded by a Yankee with the rough and patriarchal name of Isaac Hull . The two ships met , and Jonathan beat Dacre in ten minutes , and took him into port as a prisoner of war , the broom still sticking at the mast head ! I ! The Iobs Eustained by Jonathan in this engagement was , seven killed and seven wounded : while the beating , the smashing , the knocking-to-pieces , which old Isaac Hull inflicted upon US , involved the killing of fifteen ! the wounding of sixty-two H and the loss of twentyfour others , supposed to have gone overboard with

      the masts !!! Old Isaac contrived to kill and wound , and throw overboard to be drowned , a hundred and one men , OUR MEN ; while he himself had only seven killed and seven wounded !! Good God ! what a smashing . ' A Captain who had eome from before the mast , might have been unable to * beat the Yankee ; but such a Captain would have gone to the bottom ; or , at least , laid his own body dead upon the deck I Not so , however , the " aristocratic" Captain ; a sample of those turned out of the costly " naval academy . " He was smashed in a few moments , and led into port in the most lady-like manner !

      Another o ? the consequences of the present sjstem , is , that we have two Admirals to every ship of the line !! Incredible as this may appear , it is the truth ! Tbe fact is recorded in returns published by order of the Government ; and it is so monstrous , that it Beems to call in question , not only the spirit , but also the sanity that permits an abuse so outrageous ! Need we wonder that £ 7 , 000 , 000 a-year are required to keep up a navy like this ? If we

      have two admirals to every ship of the line , how many inferior officers have we to keep , either on half or full pay ? Of the number thus quartered upon us we may judge when the fact is stated , that of the seven millions paid yearly for the support of our navy , not bo much as a million-and-a-half goes to the seamen and marines !! 7 % et ' rwageB amount bat to the sum of £ 1 , 422 , 800 . Judge from this , what is squandered amongst the needy children of aristocratic corruption !

      Bat-suppose the maintenance of our Navy should now require the sum of £ 3 , 060 , 000 a year ;» . e . when the disgraceful state of things we have faintly hinted at are set right . Suppose this : and for that sum we could have a really efficient and all-powerful navy ; a navy such as a nation Bituate and circumstanced as we are , ehould and must have , if we hope to maintain our standing amongst the nations of the earth . Snppose , then , that a really powerful navy would cost us £ 3 , 000 , 000 , still that would make

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      the whole expenditure of the general government to be less than £ 4 ^ 00 ^) 00 sterling > year . We defy any man . to point out the necessity of any expenditure beyond thi 3 5 The whole of the government expences of the United States ; the general government , with its army , navy , ambassadors , custom-house officers , and all put together ; and adding thereto the government expences of the twenty States of which the Union , oonsista ; all these put together , do not amount to £ 3 , 000 , 000 sterling a year / Again we ask , why should we want more I And if we do not want more , why should we raise more !

      " Ah" ! but whispers some be-wiskered and mou $ ~ tached dandy , who is trussed-up in a suit of regimentals , and who , because he wears a sword , dubs himself a soldier , " you hays made no provision for the army j England , or at least her government could not exist without herarmy ! That army now costs the nation £ 8 , 000 » 000 annually : how could you maintain that army when you only propose to raise £ 4 , 000 , 000 for the whole expences of the general government , Yoa must surely have forgotten the army , and the necessity there exists to provide for it . " O ! no , Mr . Hairy- * ace , we

      have not forgotten the army ; though we have made , in our estimate of government expenditure , iio provision for its payment . And why should we ? What is the army wanted / or . ' r We have already been at peace for a quarter of a century ; and every session of parliament brings with it the royal assurance that the continuance of peace with all those powers of the world that we need care for , becomes more and more certain . What , then , in Goi ' s name , do we want the army / or ? True , we are at war with China , and we are sending a considerable portion of our army to India to

      take * ' REVENGE" upon a barbarous people who put some of our people to death , for invading their hearths , their homesteads , their country . True , that "glory" and " victories" are being achieved by " arms '' in the Chinaman ' s land ; ana that " glory" and " victories" are to be reaped in Afghanistan : but was for it for the purpose of forcing the Chinese to allow us to poison them with opium ; and was it that we might be able to invade the territory of the Affftans , and ( Christian-like !) "REVENGE" their"barbarous"deeds of warfare consequent on that invasion ; w « s it for

      these things , that we have maintained a standing army of 100 , 000 men for more than a quarter of a century 1 If not ; then we again ask what is the army wanted for ? We are aware that the common notion is , that the army is wanted to support the government . It is time that we had a clear conception of what the word government means . As we have stated above , ovb . government is to be found in each county , just as tbe government of the United States is to be found in each state , with this difference , that their state governments are not near so expensive as our county governments are . Let

      us again look at our county governments , however , which aro in their form and manner ( stripping them of their abuses ) ju&t what they were seven hundred years ago , and are the very best governments in the world . What is government I And . what is its business 1 Its business ia simply to keep the peace ; to take care of men ' s persons and property ; and to give to the people all the enjoyments which nature tenders to them , as far as the mutual , safety of the whole will permit . To effect these objects , we have in each county a chief magistrate , called a lordlieutenant , appointed by the Crown ; and he has

      deputy-lieutenants appointed by himself . We have justices of the peace in abundance , holding their petty sessions in every small district , and bringing their collective wisdom to a sessions of the whole county once in every quarter of a year . We have , in case of emergency , a sheriff to call out his posse , to protect persons and property . The posse being thought insufficient , we have one , two , or three battalions of militia in each county , ready to be called out by officers already appointed . Tflis is tlui Government of England . This is English Government ; and in God ' s came , what do

      we want with more ? What do we want with an army to cost us , besides our county government , the enormous sum of £ 8 , 000 , 000 a-year ! God . has drawn the waters around us ; and by all he has : done for us , seems te have said to us , " be wise , and be virtuous ; and be the greatest , the freest , and the happiest people in the world . " What , then ! are we to cast these blessings from us 1 Are we impiously to reject them , and to encumber ourselves with this standing army ; with this burden which presses us to the earth , and which exists in open violation and defiance of all those principles which were the guide of bur free and happy forefathers t

      Blackstone , the great teacher of our laws , tells every student , that the laws arid constitution of England know nothing of a standing army ; that those laws hold barracks , inland fortresses , and every thing tending to make the soldier a character different from the citizeu , in abhorrence ; that those laws , in their very principle , forbid any thought of keeping the soldier in a state of separation from the people ; that when men have arms put into their

      hands , and are embodied for the purposes of war or defence againEt foreign aggression , they ought to be disbanded and become citizens again the moment the war is over ; that the character of a soldier can never be permanent , consistent with the laws of England ; and that , in whatever country there is a permanent standing army , there never can be , and there never was , anything worthy of the name of public liberty .

      Such are the teachings of Judge Blackstone , the great expounder of English law . And it follows , as wo said before , that either Blackstone did not know what English law was , or that our £ 8 , 000 , 000 a-year standing army exists in open violation and in defiance of the constitution of the land . Blackstone did understand English law . No one , not even the greatest stickler or apologist for a standing army , will dispute this position . That law distinctly lays down that every man between certain ages , is liable to be called upon to take arms to

      defend his country from the invader , or to repell aggression upon our national honour abroad . Many statutes appear upon the pages of the statute-book setting this forth , dearly and unequivocally . One of these , being Chap . VI . of the "Statute of Winchester , made at Westminster , " in the thirteenth year of the reign of Edward I ., and in the year 1285 , is so apposite , so fully to the point , and so completely Bets the question at rest as to the right of the people to have arms that we quote it at length , as follows : —

      And further it is commanded , << That every man have in bis house Harness for to keep the Peace , [ after the antient Assiae ' : That is to s » y— : * ' ¦' . ¦ . " , " ¦ ¦ - ' :.: ¦ " . ¦ :. ¦ ¦ ' 7 ¦ : ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ " Every man between fifteen years of age and sixty years shall be assessed and sworn to Armor according to the quantity of their Lands and Goods . " That is to wit , from fifteen pounds Lands and Goods fourty marks /; an Hauberke , a Breast-plate of Iron , a Sword , a Knife , and an Horse . " And from ten pounds of Lands and twenty marks Goods , an Hauberke , a Breast-plate of Iron , a Sword , and a Knife . > V . - ¦ ;¦ ; . . ' - : / - ¦¦ : . V .. ; - : ; " And from five pounds Lands , a Doublet , a Breastplate of Iron , a Sword , and a Kuife .

      " And from fouity shillings Land and more unto one hundred shillings of Laud , a Sword , a Bow and Arrows , and a Knife . ; ; " And hV that bath leas tban fonrty BhUllngs yearly shall be sworn .. . to keep Crinrms , Knivea , and other less weapon * . ' . ; ' -7 . . . ' , ' •; ; ' ;¦ : ¦ ' . ' , ;> : ' - . ' ¦' ¦ ' ' ' \ :. ' ' - ¦'¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ , ' ¦' " And he that hath lesa than twenty marks in Goodf , snail have Swords , Knives ; and other less weapons . " And ail other that may ahall have Bows and Ar . rowa oat ol the Forest , and in tbe Forest Bows and BOUlts . . ' ; . \ ;¦ ' ¦ ' ' .. "¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦' : ¦ : ¦ " ¦ " And that view , of Armor be mad « every year two times . " . ¦ ¦' ¦¦¦¦¦ . ' : ¦ ¦ . . ¦ v - ' : '" - ¦ ••' . ' " • : ' ¦ . ' ¦ ¦ ¦ " And in every Hoadied afld Franchise two Constables shall be chosen ^ to make the view of Armor .

      "And the Constables aforesaid shall present before Justices asaifmed such Defaults as they do see in the Country aboot Armor , and of the Suits of Towns , and of Higb-iroys , and also ehall preaent all such as do lodge Strangera in aplandisb Towns for whom they will notanawerj ¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ' . ¦ :. ;• " ' ¦' ¦ ¦ . - / ' ¦ " ¦ ¦ ' ' ¦ - ' : ¦¦ ' " i .

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      ¦¦ ¦ ' : " ¦ And the Justices assigned shall present at tvery Parliament unto the King each defaults as they shall find , aad the King shall find remedy tnerin . " Heri . then , we see that W »« commanded that every UAvlisihaU have in his house aims suited to his condition and standing in life . Other statutes directly provide that at stated periods there shall be regular musters of all persons liable to bear arms , when and where they shall be examined and taught as te the use of therir . It is also provided that '' the kings : Of the realm shall levy a number of their people and subjects for the service of their majesties and of the

      realm ia their wars , such as are most able and likelieat to serve in the same ; " and the 13 th of Edward the Third , cap . 7 ., passed in . the year 1344 , expressly provides that "men of arma , hoblers and archers , chosen to go in the kind ' s service out pf England , shall beat the king's wages from the day that they depart oat of the counties where they were chosen , tilt their return . " This , then , sets the question at rest , as to the practice in former times , with respect to the bearing of arms . It was not then a " profession" I It was a duty imposed upon every one . The soldier was a citizen , and the citizen was a soldier . He was required to learn the use of arms , and to hold himself

      in readiness to defend his common country ; holding himself in readiness , indeed , to defend his own possessions . When he was called upon to go out of the country to maintain his country ' s rights or the national possessions , he was then " at the King ' s wages ; " but these wages ceased the moment he returned , whett the vraT was over . And thus it is with the American States at this moment ! They have adopted this most excellent and liberty-preserving "English Institution ; " and while they preserve it , they may bid defiance either to attempted despotisms at home , or tyrannical invasions from abroad 1

      But what is our practice ? Have we preserved this institution ? . Noil Our rulers have acted as if they were determined to leave nothing undone to make the government of England precisely the contrary of that which Blackstone and the ancient laws of the land say it ought to be ! Not only have they made a permanent standing army in time of peace ; not only are they in time of peace continually augmenting that army ; not only do they , by means of barracks , fortresses , depots , and other establishments carefully keep the soldiers separated from the people ; not only have they made it death

      by the law in any man to attempt to seduce a soldier from his duty ; not only do they keep up the enormous half-pay ; not only have they numerous bands of military officers on full pat , though engaged in no service whatever !; not only these things have they done , and these things they do ; but they have establishments for the purpose of taking children from their homes at a very tender age , keeping them shut up in aa enormous building , standing in the midst of the wildest heath in the

      kiDgdom , at a great distance from all the habitation of men ^ -there to be cut off from the rest of the people ; to have their minds formed in a purely military mould ; to imbibe no feelings in . common with the people ; taken so young as to require nurses to attend them : an establishment , in short , the very outline of which conveys to the mind of every man who contemplates it a complete conviction with regard to the motives from which this establishment , this " Military Academy , " was made !

      O , no ! we need make no provision for a standing army . A standing army is not of the " Institutions of the coantry . " A standing army is unconatitutional ! It ia acknowledged to be so every year of parliament ; for the act by which it is kept in existence is only passed from year to year , solely on account of its unconstitutionality ! I ! No ! no 1 we shall need no standing army , when we have done justice to the people ! That army is oniy now required to collect at the point of the bayonet the

      £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year needed to support and carry on the present iniquitous system . When the debt is got rid of ; when the pensions , and sinecures , and retired allowances , and grants , and dead weight are removed from the back of the broken-down people ; when the salaries of the officers of state , the judges , and the ambassadors , are reduced to a reasonable amount ; when the civil list is placed on a proper footing ; when these things are grappled with , and ehvitablx adjvbted , then we shall have no need for a standing army ' .

      The amount , then , Bought to be raised by Peel , by his new Income Tax , would be more than sufiicient for all the purposes of general government , were the expenditure of that government only that which it ought to be ! Let the working people note this fact well ! Let them hoard it in their memories ! Let them remember that an expenditure of that amount would give us a truly efficient and really powerful government ; efficient for all the purposes of protection at home , and powerful against all aggressors abroad . Let them treasure up these facts , and let them remember also how easily the reguired amount could be raised !!! A tax of three per cent , upon the Income of the

      country would be all that would be required !! Away would go all the old , expensive , and cumbrous machinery of indirect taxation ! Away would go the indirect taxation itself ! The £ 53 , 000 , 000 now raised by its means , would be left amongst the producers of wealth ; to be enjoyed by them , instead of being , as now , filched from them by an unseen hand ! We should then be in a condition to bid defiance to the foreigner and his foreign trade ; for we then should have amongst us , at home , more than he gives us for the whole of our foreign trade put together ; and we should have , besideB , the whole of the vast heaps of wealth we now let the foreigner have for an old song to distribute and divide amongst ourselves !!!

      Working people ! do you now see where the pinch is ? Do you now see what it is that the Charter is mainly required to effect I

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      of ounces just speoified . If the parcels are under sixteen punce 3 they will pass through the post-pffice" free : if they 'Weisb ! more they wfll bo charged to Mr . Ddmcombb : and we have no right to tax the pocket of that gentleman , because he kindly consents to > be the bearer of the people ' s petition into ^ what should be the People ' s House . The last petition cost Mr . Duncombe many pounds , from inat « tention to this particular * Mr . Doncombe is again preparing to do his duly to the people . He has already given notice that he will present the National Petition , on the 2 nd of May ; and that he will , on the following day , move that the House of Commons take it into

      consideration ; and that the PBrmoNBRS bb HEARD AT THB Bar IN SUPPORT OF THEIE DESUNDS , BY : Counsel , or by their Agents . " . ' .. ' . Now , then ! working people of : the United Kingdoms ! with you the work rests I It is your own , and for yourselves . You have a week to work in . Work as though you had never worked before ! Every ; band , to the pump ! and every fist to the Petition . ' ! I The time is short : improve every moment of it ! Losenbt One !

      SIGN ! SIGN !! SIGN !!! SIGNf !!! and then for . ' 'the presentation on the 2 nd of May !! and the answer of the Commons to the nation ' s demands !! The following is the PROGRAMME OF THE PROCESSION WITH THE NATIONAL PETITION TO THE - HOUSE OF COMMONS ON MAY THE 2 nd , 1842 .

      Marshals on horseback . Instrumental baad . Council of the National Charter Association of tha : ' ., Metropelis . ¦ Female , members of the National Charter Association of the Metropolis . ; Two marshals on horseback . Instrumental band . Delegates representing Wales . Delegates representing Ireland .. Scotch pipers . Drum and fife . Delegates representing Scotland ! Bras 3 band .

      Delegates representing England , From various parts of the Country . Marshals on horseback . = ¦¦ ¦ •¦ Sword of justice .

      THE NATIONAL PETITION Borne by representatives of Trades . Marehals on horseback . National Convention . ; Carriagea . Band . The Metropolitan Trade ' s Association . Marshals on horseback . Favours to be tricolour for gentlemen , and white * . rosettes with scarlet riband for ladies . Counoilmen to carry wands . '

      : . . .. ; ; . ; : :. NOTICE . ¦ . . - /¦ The members of the National Charter Association will assemble in a central position as early as eight o ' clock , and march to Linooln ' s-inn-fields preceded T > y bands . A grand dinner will take place at the White Conduit House , on the conclusion of th * proceedings .

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      - " > ™^™ ~^~ . ^^ J . I . ^^ WW . . ¦; THE WORKING PEOPLE ; -THE TRUGKMONGERSi-AND THE FRAUDULENT MANUFACTURERS . A hefehnce to our short report of the proceedings of the House of Commons on Tuesday last , will put the reader in possession of the fact that Mr . BusFiELD Febrani ) then moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into the truth of his allegations , as to the extensive practice of the truck-Bysteni : in all parts of the country

      where the labourer is at the mercy of the employer ; and also into ^ the numerous frauds that are committed by our manufacturers in the production of their goods , to the manifest and direct injury of the national character and name . We are sorry that we are not able this week to give the speeolr of the Honourable Member in makiDg his motion . It is important that the working people should know the nature of . his pleadings on their behalf i and we Bhall endeavour , next week | to put those of that class who read the Star in possession of them .

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      Fbost , WiLiJAMs , and Jones . —Mr . T . P . Greeniof ¦ / Vb .-l , Bath-street ,, Birmingham , requests therela-; tions , friends , neighbours , and acauaintances in Wales , or those of any part of England , Scotland , or elsewhere > to furnish him with as manyparticulars as possible of their life , character , political traits , biograpical sketches , the political -persecutions they have ¦ undergone in their local situations , witft any facts connected with the conspirators who obtained their conviction , Govertnental or local agents , $ 6 ., to enable Mr . Green to do full justice to the exiles . All communica- : tions to be prepaid . Any friend that may have . been implicated in the Newport affairs may suppress their name but furnish the facts , thai all means may be used to make the public acquainted with the grievous wrongs those men have en-. : dured . : ¦ ' ' . - ¦¦"¦ . '¦ ¦ r ¦'¦ . ¦ : . "¦ ¦ . ¦¦ . ¦¦¦ - ¦¦ ¦ .

      C . Bowman . —We have not by us just now the tables . which toould enable us satisfactorily to answer , his question . Deptford and Geeenwich CHARTisTS . --ilfr . Morgan may send his money here , with the statement ¦ of the . soxiice whence derived , and the purpose . to which it must be applied ; T . Preston . —/ its communication is an advertise-¦ wtenf . ¦ ; ¦ : '¦ ; " : ¦ ¦ : ¦ " ' ' ^ .. ¦ . ' ¦ ¦ . '• " ¦¦ : . ; ¦' . ¦ " : ¦ ¦ . Hstittr BxiKtow . —Nothing can be further from our intention . than togive offenceeithertoindividuals or-societies . We would gladly afiord space for all tht ' . well ' written ,: and ' wellmeani [ addresses of individuals and societies if it were possible ; but . toe assure Mr . Burton that if we did sqy we must

      excluderfrom ther Star everything elsey < md even then all could not be published . WearesureMr . Burton would not wish to see the Star entirely occupiedwith addresses such as that to which he refers in his letter ; while the complaint in this very letter ef his , that such addresses have ap ~ peared in our paper—one but a very few weeks ago—is an evidence of the impossibility of selecting , without giving offence , as each party sending an address of course deems that address to be more important and necessary than the address of any other parly . It was this very thing whichobliged us long ago to give public notice , that in future we should insert no such addressest except from important public bodies , such atithe

      Execulive , the Conventtqh , great delegate rneelings , or in . special cases where we might have reason to believe that necessity existed for deviating from the rule * This notice has since been repeated several times j ¦ and we were therefore bound to suppose the Birmingham readers of the Star to be acquainted withit . / ¦ ¦ . ' . - ¦ ¦ . ¦ ; . . ¦' . : ¦ ¦¦¦ . ¦• • ' ' . ¦'¦ ¦ ' : ' ¦¦ ¦ ¦ " . Timothy Thatcher . — -TFe are not aware of having omitted to publish any list of subscriptions which ¦ ¦ :: we may have receivedfr ( m Mr ; Heywood . That gentleman has stated that he sent a list some time ago of the receipt of which we have no recollee-< ion , though it is quite possible we may have received it , and in the mass of correspondence which comes here , more than three-fourths of . which goes to the " devil , "for . lighting fires with , every week , it may by chance have been overlooked and destroyed : and this may account for '; of

      the neglect ' which the King George on Horseback Chartists complain . B ; T . does not seem to understand the driveller . His . great object is to obtain a notice in the Northern Star , which would serve as an advertisement for his * spoiled rag . " We feel no disposition to oblige himi William Greenwood . —Haworth is a township , situate in the parish of Bradford , in the West Riding of the county of York . It contains , according to the census fot 184 I , « population of 6 , 302 . There are 1 , 348 houses , itfofiohich are . uninhabited . It also contains one church , or . chapeiVof ease , seven Wesley an , Methodists , Bap-¦ tists , and other dissenting chapels or meeting ' houses , in connection with which are eight Sabbath schools . In addition to the above there is also onefree day school . : John 0 'Rodrk . k . — We can neither say ** Yes" nor

      "No till we have seen the communication . > J . A ., ofM . S . — Wehavenorootn . Richard Bates must refer to the advertisement , James Duffy , of Sheffield , will receive a letter at the post office , Liverpool , on or before the 28 th instant , containing the address of his son George's wife , whoi wili ' leaveLiverpool on the above date for America . :::. y <; ' y ' . .. ¦ . ¦ . ¦; : .. ¦ ' . ' ¦ , '¦ .. A Walking GBNTLEMA | r .---H eAat ) ff no room . An * ^ Person " in Brighton mshing to have aiiy Char ' tist scarfs may be supplied by applying to Mr . N , : '¦ : ¦ Marling . ¦; ¦ ¦'¦ ¦' .. ¦ .. : ¦• - :. ¦ -: ;;¦ -. - . .- ; . '¦ ..... ;¦ ¦ , Mrs . Frost's Estate ^ Fund . —The baiance-sheit next week . : " :.-: _ ¦¦ - .. ¦ ¦ ¦ ; . - . - . - "•¦• - ; - ¦ - ,-.

      The Northern Star. Saturday, April 23, 1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , APRIL 23 , 1842 .

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      THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AND THE NATIONAL PETITION . . The Convention is fairly jA work ! Let the reader carefully peruse the copious reports of their proceedings , which we this day present him with ; and let him firmly resolve to act up to the spirit there indicated , and turn not , either to the right hand or to the left , from the Btraightforward Charter highway . Preparations are being made by the Convention for the presentation of the

      GREAT NATIONAL PETITION on the 2 nd of May . The members of that body are doing their duty to the country , by making all arrangements to give due eiFeofc to the National Will . Is the Country doing its duty to the Convention I Are all the signatures obtained to the Great National that can be obtaiued ! Have all the exertions possible been made in every locality to fill the sheets ! Is it not

      possible to ADD to the muster roll of Chartism , during the ensuing week , many and good recruits , who only want asking t Lei this be tried III Let every shdulder be put to the wheel—every effort made , during , the short period that will intervene between and the presentation of the embodiment of the people ' s voice to the " assembled Commons , " to swell the number of those who demand freedom for themselves J freedom for their children !! freedem for their country I !!

      Ab fast as the sheets are filled up , let them be neatly pasted together , and rolled up into parcels with a cover on , ( but which coyer must not inclose the ends of the parcel ; they must be left open , ) and forwarded , through the post , to the following address : — ' . ' ' ¦ ' ' ¦¦ ¦ . ¦ ;¦¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ , ; •¦' ¦ ¦ , _ ¦¦ ¦¦ ; ¦ T . S . Duacombe , Esq ., M . P ., Albany , ( Petition to Parliament . ) London . Be « itre , too , that each parcel weighs whder sixteen ounces . It is easy to make two or more parcels f the sheets , if they weigh more than the nomber

      3to Meajierjs Anh Correjspomient^

      3 To Meajierjs anH Correjspomient ^

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      4 ¦ ¦ " . . -. THE NORTHltN SW ^ ^^ ^ , ¦ . ' ... -, ¦¦ ,, { •; , ; ' . ;¦ ,- . .- ^ . ... y- ¦ - '¦;¦; :: : ' ^

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 23, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct595/page/4/